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Roy Oswalt, RHP, starter
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Oswalt is the ultimate "drop and drive" pitcher. He uses his legs to get the most out of his slight frame, making his fastball explode out of his compact delivery. Oswalt's slider is very short and tight in the mid-upper 80s. He will often attempt to backdoor LHs with it. He throws a changeup that sinks when kept down, otherwise it will float into home plate. Oswalt's signature pitch is his 12-6 curveball that he can vary the velocity on. He can throw it in the upper 70s and hard, or will often slow it down into the 60s to give it huge break. In the past, Oswalt has experimented with a split-finger pitch. 4/9/09 CSJ
*fastball(90-96), curve(66-80), slider(83-87), changeup(81-83)
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Wandy Rodriguez, LHP, starter
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Rodriguez is a simple 3-pitch pitcher. He throws a big curve between 72-78mph, a straight changeup in the low 80s, and a straight fastball in the upper 80s. Wandy was also a member of the 2007 Caribbean Series champion Aguilas Cibaenas. 10/24/08 CSJ
*fastball(86-90), curve(72-78), changeup(81-85)
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Wesley Wright, LHP, reliever
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Wesley is a young lefty. He shows a live arm that produces a low-90s fastball and sweeping slider. He has shown me a slow curveball as well. Wesley produced good K totals in 2008, but still needs to work on his command. 10/24/08 CSJ
*fastball(90-93), slider(82-86), curve(77-78)
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Doug Brocail, RHP, reliever
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Brocail seems to have refined his repertoire down to his hard fastball and hard breaking curveball. Depending on what is working in the bullpen before his outing, he will also show his tight slider and changeup. Brocail was a 1st round draft pick in 1986, never quite made it big, but has kept himself in the majors by becoming one of the more reliable relief pitchers in baseball. 10/24/08 CSJ
*fastball(91-94), curve(77-80), slider(88)
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Mike Hampton, LHP, starter
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Hampton has had a successful career throwing all kinds of slop to the plate and fielding his position well. He won't give in to any hitter, preferring to walk a batter than throw one down the chute. Hampton works with two distinct fastballs, a straight 4-seamer and a sinking 2-seamer that works like a changeup at times. His third pitch is an effective cutter that he'll use on the glove side of home plate. Hampton will also mix in a few curveballs per game and tries the occasional changeup. At times, all of his stuff tends to blend together into some kind of undistinguishable pitch around 85mph, which makes for either an uncomfortable at-bat or a repertoire without crispness. 5/14/09 CSJ
*4-seam fastball(88-91), 2-seamer(82-86), cutter(84-87), curve(75-80), changeup(77-80)
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Tim Byrdak, LHP, reliever
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Byrdak is fastball/slider lefty. His fastball is fairly straight, while his slider sweeps across the hitting zone. Byrdak also uses the standard strategy of throwing his changeup to RHs. 7/25/08 CSJ
*fastball(88-92), slider(81-86), changeup(79-82)
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Geoff Geary, RHP, reliever
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Geary is effective by mixing the speed and tilt of his slider. He can vary it between 80-85mph, sometimes giving it more drop. Geoff throws a moving fastball to try and induce groundballs. He also has a changeup, and will show that occasionally. Geary was born in Buffalo, NY. 4/9/09 CSJ
*fastball(89-93), slider(80-83), changeup(80-84)
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Jose Valverde, RHP, closer
Sponsor this player for $45/year
Valverde is basically a fastball/splitter pitcher. He shows television viewers his split grip at the bottom of his arm circle. Sometimes his splitter will dive, and sometimes it will just float in like a changeup. He experimented with a cutter in 2007 and used to throw some sliders. Valverde's fastball will often sail out of control towards home plate, making for many nervous nights closing games. 10/24/08 CSJ
*fastball(94-98), splitter(83-86)
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LaTroy Hawkins, RHP, reliever
Sponsor this player for $35/year
LaTroy Hawkins has a complete repertoire. He has decent velocity, throws four different pitches, and has good command. LaTroy's fastball is solid, sitting in the low-90s. His slider is short and tight, a pitch he added while with the Cubs. His changeup used to be his best pitch during his two dominant years in Minnesota. Lastly, Hawkins will throw a hard curveball that gets big drop. 4/3/08 CSJ
*fastball(89-97), slider(85-90), changeup(79-88), curve(78-83)
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Chris Sampson, RHP, starter/reliever
Sponsor this player for $15/year
Sampson has a good looking curveball that he can drop in for strikes. He also throws lots of sliders. However, his moving fastball doesn't appear good enough to throw quality major league innings. 8/11/08 CSJ
*fastball(87-91), slider(81-84), curve(77-79), changeup(83)
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Brian Moehler, RHP, starter
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With velocity that barely touches 90mph, Moehler relies on using a moving fastball, a cutter, and sinking changeup. He'll use the cutter primarily inside on LHs, but will also occasionally throw it to RHs like a slider. Moehler's changeup is used often to LHs. Brian shows a curveball as his fourth pitch. 9/11/08 CSJ
*fastball(87-90), cutter(85-87), changeup(80-82), curve(78)
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Alberto Arias, RHP, reliever
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Alberto Arias throws a moving 90mph fastball and a hard breaking curve. I have not seen an off-speed pitch from Arias. 6/23/08 CSJ
*fastball(91-94), curve(80-83)
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Jeff Fulchino, RHP, reliever
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Fulchino is a big dude who can bring some heat. He pumps in a dropping splitter to go with his heavy fastball. Jeff also shows a tight slider. 10/24/08 CSJ
*fastball(91-95), splitter(82-88), slider(81-87)
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Brandon Backe, RHP, starter
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Backe is a hard thrower, bringing a moving low-90s fastballs to the mound. He throws a standard curveball that moves in a 12-6 fashion and he'll show a changeup to LHs. Backe's best pitches are his two different hard breaking balls. He'll throw lots of tight spinners in the upper-80s that I'll call cutters. He'll use this pitch inside to LHs often, and even use it away from RHs. Backe will then throw a standard slider in the low-80s, predominately away from RHs. Unfortunately, Backe's positive stuff hasn't yielded any results yet. 8/5/08 CSJ
*fastball(85-93), cutter(85-90), curve(68-79), slider(81-85), changeup(78-82)
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